Warrior Darter: Facts & Habitat

About Warrior Darter

The warrior darter (Etheostoma bellator) is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is endemic to the eastern United States, where it occurs in the Black Warrior River system above the fall line in Mulberry Fork, Locust Fork, and Valley creek, Alabama. It inhabits small and medium-sized rubble-strewn streams, in slow to fast current over substrates of bedrock, cobble, or gravel; moderately flowing cobble riffles; and shallow pools over coarse gravel above riffles.

NativeFresh1 states

Article text: Wikipedia contributors, Warrior darter (source revision). Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Diet and feeding

The FishTraits compilation records these diet categories for this species: invertebrates or larval fish. These are broad categories, not a claim that every individual consumes every example in a category.

Habitat preferences

Reported habitat associations include streams and small rivers, creeks.

The source records associations with gravel, cobble, bedrock. An association indicates reported use, rather than an exclusive requirement.

Reproduction and parental care

The compilation reports a representative maturity age of 1 years. Its maturity field summarizes mean, median, or modal estimates, usually for females; male estimates can be used when female data are unavailable. It is not a fixed age at which every fish first breeds.

Recorded spawning months are Mar, Apr, May for the source’s reporting region (AL). This is a regional calendar, not a range-wide schedule.

Size and recorded longevity

FishTraits reports a maximum total length of 5.8 centimetres. Some entries use an estimated asymptotic length; this value should not be treated as a certified record catch.

Range

Where it lives

100%of mapped records

Share of 189 GBIF observation records with a state location, across 1 states.

Share of records by state

Alabama100%

Habitat

Water and movement

Water: WoRMS records this species in fresh water.
Migration: Undetermined

Classification

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Superclass: Actinopterygii
Class: Teleostei
Order: Perciformes
Family: Percidae
Genus: Etheostoma
Species: Etheostoma bellator
ITIS TSN: 553377
WoRMS AphiaID: 1010988
GBIF key: 2382219

Common questions about Warrior Darter

What is the scientific name of Warrior Darter?

The scientific name is Etheostoma bellator, in the family Percidae. Classification follows ITIS.

Does Warrior Darter live in fresh water or salt water?

WoRMS records this species in fresh water.

Where has Warrior Darter been recorded in the United States?

GBIF has observations in 1 states, with the most records in Alabama. The map shows observation records, which do not establish the complete natural range.

Closest relatives